Air spiral



F. PARDEE AIR 'SPIRAL NOV. 18,

2 SheetsSheet vl Filed Oct. 25 1922 I I I A T RNEY Nov. 18,

F. PARDEE AIR SPIRAL Filed Oct. 25, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 jZ EAN/f 31205:.

I Patented Nov. '18, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PABDEE, 01' H AZLE'I'ON, PENNSYLVANIA.

AIR srmn.

Application and October as, 1022. Serial a... 396,707.

To all whom. may concern."

Be it known that I, FRANK Pumas, a

citizen of the United States, and resident of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Air Spirals, of which the ollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to spiral separators for separating slate and other im urities from coal. In a co-pending app ication filed March 28, 1922, Serial Number 547,451 I have disclosed means for utilizing fluid pressure to assist in the separation of materials being handled on the separator.

My present invention is a continuation in part of and an improvement on the invention described in said application.

An embodiment of the invention is illus trated in the accompanying drawings in port construction;

floor 16 over whic 6 is a section on line 6- -6 of Fig. 5;' Fig. 7 is a section on line 77 of Fi 6;.

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 illustrate another cm -of ort, Fig. 9 being a section on line 99 of ig. 8 and Fig. 1010 of Fig. 9;

Figs. 11, 12 and 13 show another-form of 10 being a section on line port construction, Figs. 12 and 13 bein sections on the ,cerresporidin ly numbere lines of Fi s. 11 and 12.1ook1ng in the direction of t e arrows. Referring to the drawings the separator includes an upright supporting column 10 to which is secured a plurality of outwardly extending rods 12 for supporting the runway designated as a who The runway could be supported in several different ways and the invention is not limited to use with any particular type of en orting structure. I

erunway com rises an upper wall or r the -material travels and a lower wall 18 which is spaced away therefrom to form a. chamber 20. Th1s chamber is closed at the outer edge by a may he perforat e by numeral 14.

spiral rod or bar 22 to which theplates forming the walls of the runway are se-j cured by bolts 24. The plates forming the walls 16 and 18 are formed with flanges 26 and 28 through which pass suitable screws or bolts 30 to secure them to the central column 10.

The column '10 is hollow and is formed with a series of ports 32 which open into the chamber 20. Air or other suitable fluid is supplied to the column 10'by a pipe 34 which leads to a suitable fan, pum or'fiuid supply, not shown. The fluid t us .supplied esca es through a multiplicity of ports 36 form in the segmental ates or jackets 38 which form the upper we 1 16 of the run- 'l he entire area of each segmental plate 38 may be perforated as in Fig. 1 to form a multiplicity of orts for the escape of fluid,

or as shown in i lsome of the plates 38 at certain areas and imperforate'at other areas.

In my .co-pending application above referred to the segmental plates or jackets of for the escape of fluid at the line where the ischarge the fluid over a. much greater area and the jections rate the same. The projections form part of the in which the jet issues from the chamber 20. In Figs. 2 to 13 inclusive, I have shown various alternative forms of lates having ports constructed to direct t e jet of air or other fluid in a determined direction.

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 show a portion of a segmental plate in which the ports 36 are formed. plurality of crests 38 and indentations 10 thus forming a recticulated surface for the material to travel over. The ports formed in 1prorts are formed by punching prothis way will direct the jets of fluid so-that ort and serve to control the direction the separator, are corrugated to formports.

cm the body of the plate to perfoy stamping the metal to form a and 3 and 6. The jets of fluid, it is seen,

are discharged alongl the surface of the plates and exert a pus ing action on the material instead of esca ing perpendicularly and merel' exerting a iftmg action as said jets woul do. if the ports were simple per= pendicular holes punc or drilled through the plates. v

In Figat, 6=and 7 the ports 36 are to project beyond one surface of formed by punching elongated tongues or ,projections42 from the surface of the plates so that .they extend beyond the surface of the imperfo'rate part of the plate. These tongues form part of the ports and serve to restrict the outlet areas of the port orifices and also to control the direction in which segmental plates having different ports such as those shown in Figs. 2 to 13 can be used in different combinations. The plates can be inverted if desired so that the projections forming part of the ports will extend above the surface of the runway so as to exert a friction on the material traveling thereon. As indicated in Fig. 1 the runway is made up of plates having the several different types 0 orts shown in Figs. 2 to 13, the plates 38 eing perforated throughout their entire area and the plates 38"- having outlet ports formed only in part of the surfaces thereof. The lates used will be determined by the class 0 coal or other material handled and Iido not limit myself to any particular type oncombination of the types 0f clined chute 48, of

ports shown.

For feedin the coal and slate or other materials to t e se arator I emplo an iniiollow construction havmg anupper wall 50 with ports 36 formed therein of any of the above describedtypes.

A lower wall 52 is spaced away from the wall 50 by side bars 54 which are secured to said wallsby bolts 56 as shown. This construction forms a chamber 58 which is .supplied with air or otherfluid. -The discharge of the fluid from the ports 36 of the chute makes it possible to accelerate the travel of the material over the same and also provides a simple ex edient for regulating the rate of flow of ifferent classes of material and compensating for the variation in the frictionexerted by the material due to atmospheric or weather conditions.

In operation the mixture of coal and slate is dumped into a suitable hopper or bin and thechute 50 conveys and dischar es it to the upper end of the runway 14 o the spiral seplarator. Coal has a hard glass-like crysta me surface, and slate and other impurities' are dull and exert more friction when traveling down the runway. Due to these characteristics the coal has a tendency to travel faster than the slate and centrifugal force aids in causing the coal to travel in an outer path on the runway, while the slate follows an inner path nearer the axis of the separator.

As the mixture of coal and slate leaves comparatively lighter than the slate and augments the centrifugal action of the spiral separator. The urer coal flies off and is caught by a suitable conveyor thread 60 supported in juxta osition to the runway. This thread 60 discl ar es the coal to a suitable chute or storage bin, not shown. Pure coal also is discharged from the lower end of the outer or peripheral zone of the run way and this too is led by a suitable chute to a storage bin or pile, not shown. The slate and other impurities being heavier and duller exert a eater friction on the runway and are not all degree as the. lighter coal, and they fall toward the inner or central art ofthe runway and such refuse is discharged at the lower end to a waste pile, not shown.

ected by the fluid to the same My improved s lral separator having means for exertin uid pressure on the material possesses althe known advantages of the usual spiral separator and the added advantage that the work can be done in less time, and the apparatus requires-less verti cal space or head room than former types of spiral separators. The plates having the improved port constructions above described provide means for directing the jets of air in the most'advantageous direction, and suitable styles of ports shown can be selected for treating diflerent classes of material and the volume or pressure of the fluid discharged can be varied according to the material handled or to com 'nsate for changes in weather conditions which affects the manner in which the material travels on the separator.

The plates havinga multiplicity of portsv permits of an even distribution of fluid pressure alon the runway and makes it possible to uti ize a reat number of ets to act continuously on t e material to be separated. Accurateand delicate adjustment of the fluid can be secured by using plates having diflerent size ports or bybending the projections forming part of said ports torestrict the outlet areas more or less as required. In some cases the plates can be -The pressure, velocity or volume of the fluid discharged from the runway can varied by increasing or decreasing the size of the port openings as herein disclosed. Or the speed of the fan or blowing engine can be varied or the fluid supply can be controlled by a valve such as shown diagrammaticall at 33 in Fig. 1 to increase or decrease t e force exerted on the material traveling on the spiral floor.

lVhile I have described with great particularity the details of'the embodiment of the invention herein shown, itis not to be construed that I am restrictedto such construction. Various changes in arrangement and substitution of equivalents may be made by those skilled in the art without departure from the invention as defined in t e appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A separator having a spiral runway comprising a series of perforated plates the perforations in the plates to assist separation of the material traveling on-the runway.

2. A separator having a spiral runway and means for discharging a fluid through in t e which is perforated to permit the discharge t e of a fluid along the runway to assist in separation of the material travelin thereon.

3. A separator having a spira runway formed of upper and. lower plates spaced apart to form 'a' spiral chamber, rts formed in the surface of the up er p ates and means for supplying, a flui to said chamber. v

4. A spiral separator. having a runway formed with walls spacedapart to form a V chamber to convey a fluid,- one of said walls being reticulated to resent a frictional surface to the materia travelin on the runway and also permit the disc ar e of fluid from said chamber to assist in t e separation of material traveling along the runway.

the upper wall of said runway being formed of a series of segmental plates havmg portions punched to form outlet ports to direct the flow of fluid from said chamber.

7. Ina spiral separator havin a cham-- bered runway for sup lyinga fluid to assist in the separation o the material being treated, a discharge port construction comprising a plate havin a multiplicity of portions punched to 0 set certain areas with respect to other areas to form a multiplicity of openin s through which the fluid can be discharged in jets.

8. A s iral separator having a runway with walls spaced apart to form a chamber, means for supplying a fluid to said chamber, the up er wall of said runway having a multipliclty of surface indentations forming ports through which the fluid is adapted to be discharged in adirection determlned bythe location and shape of the indentations. I i

9. A spiral separator having a runway with walls spaced apart to form a chamber, means for supplying a fluid to said chamber, the upper wall of said runway ha ving projections (punched therefrom to form ports adapte to control the direction of the ets issuing from the chamber.

. 10. A spiral separator having a runwaywith walls spaced apart to form a chamber, means for supplying a fluid to said chamber, the upper wall of said runway comprising a series of segmental, plates each aving a multiiplicity o in, each of sai deflector adapted to direct the jet of fluid dischar ed from the port in a predetermined irection.

means for discharging a fluid from the runway thereof, means for varying the pressure, velocity or volume of said fluid so as to vary the force exerted on the material traveling on the runwafy.

In witness whereo, I have hereunto signed my name.- I

FRANK PARDEE.

orts formed thereports inc uding a rojection extending into said chamber and orming a 11. In a spiral separator provided with 

